Indulgence
by spicyberries
Summary: Kakash'd made it very clear that Sasuke was not allowed to fight Itachi. Contains spanking.
1. Evasion

This was kinda requested from a Guest in the story Firm Hand. I liked this idea, because I just can't get over the fact that Sasuke was allowed by an adult to confront a S-Rank shinobi all by himself in canon. It's just. Ugh. So. Frustrating.

And also because adults are not supposed to leave a traumatized kid alone to his own dark thoughts. Like, never. Much less a child with a cursed mark. I understand that all of this was made for the sake of drama and plot, but that's precisely why I have the urge to soothe that pain a little.

Anyway, this story will contain spanking and lots of comforting in the second chapter.

I apologize for the grammatical mistakes!

* * *

Kakashi should have known.

Kakashi should have known Sasuke wouldn't believe his poor excuses why they couldn't have lunch together, especially after he'd been the one to invite him in the first place. He should have known his student would follow him through the village, from roof to roof, as silently as he'd taught him himself. He should have known his threatens wouldn't be enough to force Sasuke to stay away from the danger. Not when Kakashi wasn't standing right in front of him to protect him from harm any longer, at least.

Kakashi should have known Itachi would take him down in seconds with his Infinite Tsukuyomi.

But he hadn't.

And because of his idiocy he'd had to endure his tiny genin's _agonizing_ screams for what felt like ages. The sound of bones snapping. Fists impacting so hard against flesh that they could be _heard_. Ragged breaths desperately pulled in by air deprived lungs, before the next blow landed. Wet, painful coughing. _Groans and whines and whimpers and stifled sobbing._

All of that while Kakashi laid helplessly there, on the water, not even able to regain control of his limbs and so pitifully struggling not to drown. Almost failing every time he heard Sasuke scream again, concentration betraying him and making him stumble over his own sinking hands and feet and fall straight on his face. Breathing water in in despair, cursing himself over and over again for _not knowing._

Then everything had gone awfully quiet. And Kakashi had realized, both with relief and terror, that Sasuke'd finally slipped into blissful unconsciousness. Which either meant his injuries were truly serious or that his miserable excuse of an older brother had dared to use his Infinite Tsukuyomi on him, a _child._

Driven only by the crushing rage that invaded him after considering any of these possibilities, Kakashi'd somehow managed to lift his head and actually cast Kamui on one of Itachi's arms. His intention had been to distract him, because he just _knew_ he didn't have enough chakra to try and take his limb off, so he was shocked when Sasuke's older brother stammered backwards and fell on his knees.

The one who truly got deconcentrated by that was Kisame Hoshigaki, though. He was so unsettled that he stopped brandishing his monstrous Samehada for one only second, and that was enough for Asuma to slip past him and shove one of his chakra blades into Itachi's stomach with one single swing. Blood dripped down Itachi's chin, but apart from that, he didn't make a sound.

He still proved to have enough strength in him to send Asuma away with a sturdy kick. But, after that, he started coughing blood, and Kisame was at his side immediately, cleverly not daring to try and yank the knife off. Kakashi's vision clouded after that, and he would've successfully drowned this time had Kurenai not caught him.

Asuma was with them a few minutes later, Sasuke cradled in his arms. Kakashi tried to examine him closely, like he always did to his genin after every fight, but his throbbing eyes and fogged mind did nothing to cooperate. He barely managed to urgently demand for his friends to take Sasuke to the hospital, and that actually made Asuma snort. Kakashi didn't blame him. As if not taking an injured student to the hospital were even a possibility.

He didn't realize the water under them was starting to swirl and wave, infused on chakra, until Guy entered the scene and interrupted the water jutsu by lashing out against Kisame with his signature roundhouse kick. The mist nin managed to fend himself with his sword but, with his other arm curled protectively around Itachi's middle, he couldn't counter attack properly.

Kakashi blinked, or at least it felt like a blink to him, and suddenly he and the other jōnin were alone.

Then Guy began yelling something about villains youthfully sweeping other villains up in their arms to protect them. And Kakashi finally fainted.

* * *

Kakashi refused to stay in his own room so stubbornly that the hospital personal eventually had to give in and place him and Sasuke in the same room. Not that it made any difference, since he still stayed out of bed most of the nights. He wouldn't hear any of anyone's shit on that matter. His place was right on his genin's bedside, where he could easily reach and grab his hand whenever he started tossing and turning, haunted by nightmares. No human force would convince him of getting rest when he knew that his tiny student would stifle his screams even in his fitful sleep.

The only thing he truly paid attention to apart from Sasuke's health were the updates on Naruto's whereabouts. He'd been attacked by Akatsuki a few days after the incident in Konoha, but Jiraiya had been prepared for that after being informed by Guy himself and Naruto had resulted untouched. Kakashi was still feeling a little wary about having Naruto so far from him and diving straight into danger while helping to look for Tsunade Senju, but he forced himself to remember that Jiraiya could be just as overprotective as him. If not more.

Sasuke opened his eyes for the first time five days after the fight.

He barely said a few words. Numbers for the pain, yes and no for symptoms. He demanded for the IV to be immediately removed from his hand, but everything he accomplished was to get his hand tightly bandaged up, so he wouldn't be able to rip the needle off. Then he was put to sleep again, when he'd started to turn pale and sweaty even after he'd claimed his pain was merely a four.

The nurse explained Kakashi that even civilian adults used to rate the pain of broken ribs with at least a seven. Kakashi himself admitted that he would rate it with a five.

But what he didn't share was that he'd seen closely the look in Sasuke's eyes, and that he clearly understood that pain wasn't the main of his student's concerns in that moment. Kakashi actually dreaded the moment Sasuke wasn't in so much pain anymore and was allowed to stay awake for more time, when he would actually have a lot of time to overthink about the last events.

He couldn't leave him alone.

Sakura started visiting as soon as she was allowed to and refused to leave when visit time was over. Some nights Kakashi indulged her by interceding with the nurses and earning permission for her to stay. Other nights, when her eyes were puffy and red because of the exhaustion and the crying, he put his foot down and ordered her to go home and get some rest.

He did appreciate being able to hold her in his arms some nights, though. Having at least one of his genin safe and sound was a small comfort.

* * *

Tsunade Senju was brought back to Konoha by Naruto.

While it was incredibly reassuring to see the pain fade bit by bit from Sasuke's face while Tsunade healed him, Kakashi couldn't bring himself to feel relieved. Especially after being able to see how the fogginess disappeared from the boy's eyes and slowly revealed the heartbreaking distress hiding behind them. Tsunade, not for nothing the most skillful ever known med nin in the world, didn't let that slip past her either. She pressed a caring kiss against Sasuke's forehead, whispered something that Kakashi couldn't hear, and then looked at them.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "None of you would stop annoying me about healing this brat. You better—"

She didn't need to say anything else.

Naruto and Sakura were both scrambling onto the bed before Tsunade could finish that sentence, _bawling_ their eyes out. They both curled against Sasuke's sides and pressed their teary faces against his shoulders, holding onto him like they were afraid of him suddenly evaporating at any second.

"Careful with his ribs!" Tsunade hissed, smacking Naruto and Sakura with her notepad after Sasuke winced almost imperceptibly. Her eyebrows were furrowed, but there was a small smile on her lips. "They're not fully healed yet. I will not have any of you accidentally messing my work up."

But they weren't hearing her anymore. They were too busy arguing about something, Sasuke included, the tiny demons. They had a lot of bickering to catch up with, and apparently it couldn't wait a single second more. Kakashi couldn't even understand what could possibly be bothering them after so long after seeing each other.

It was only after Tsunade threatened with sedating the three of them that they finally shut up and grumpily settled back against the pillows, refusing to see anyone's eyes but still clinging to each other. Then Tsunade proceeded to heal Kakashi, and both contemplated as the three kids slowly drifted off to what probably was the first peaceful sleep they'd had in the last week.

"How did Itachi Uchiha find him?" Tsunade calmly asked, and Kakashi tensed.

"He didn't," He muttered, and hoped that answer would be enough. Tsunade's displeased and piercing glare made him know that it wasn't. "Sasuke followed me when I went to confront Itachi. I was so worried about the reason why someone had infiltered into the village that I didn't even contemplate the possibility of him doing that."

"And you decided that letting a _boy_ engage into battle with the person who killed his entirely family was a good idea?" Tsunade gritted his teeth. "I don't care if he was following him or if he was hiding in your pouch, Kakashi. Even having him physically attached to your hand wouldn't justify the fact you allowed him to _fight._ "

Kakashi tensed up twice as before. A shiver ran down his back.

It wasn't until Tsunade's apparently harmless glowing hands sent a small shock through his body that he gathered enough courage to answer.

"I didn't," He explained, swallowing. "He waited until I was out of combat and Asuma and Kurenai were busy with Itachi Uchiha's partner to do it."

Tsunade's lips pressed together into a tight line. And then she didn't say anything else on the topic for the next half an hour. After Kakashi was completely healed, she gave Sasuke one last check up before looking at Kakashi dead in the eye.

"You can't let him get away with it."

Kakashi buried his face in his hands and refused to answer.

"This wasn't a harmless childish escapade, Kakashi," Tsunade continued, heading for the door. "He could have gotten himself killed."

Then she left.

* * *

"You warned him, Kakashi," Guy said, and Kakashi almost felt dismayed by the look of seriousness in his eyes. That wasn't common in him. "Kurenai and Asuma told me. You explicitly stated that he would deeply regret it if he dared to disobey you. Didn't you?"

"I should've known he was going to do it as soon as I wasn't physically able to restrain him—"

"Kakashi!" Guy chided, eyebrows almost becoming one as he frowned. "He's been your genin for almost two years by now, right? He surely knows the rules. And the consequences. If you don't administer them, _life_ will do it for you. And, I assure you, life has got no mercy for shinobi."

Kakashi groaned.

"He'll put his life in danger again as soon as he's allowed to leave this hospital," Guy continued, using his thumb to point at the closed door leading to Sasuke's room. "He has been _insufferable_ with his teammates ever since he woke up, right? This is not going to stop until you talk to him, Kakashi. And I mean _a real talk."_

"He's in _pain,_ " Kakashi insisted, feeling almost overwhelmed. "And I don't mean physical pain. Something is troubling him."

"Want to know what's bothering him?" Guy said, narrowing his eyes and leaning closer to Kakashi. "He's craving power, Kakashi. And I don't mean good, pure friendship power."

This time Kakashi stayed silent, feeling lightheaded as he looked straight into his best friend's fierce eyes. They were burning, but not with outrage. No. They glinted with protective ire, and stern inflexibility. Guy could be considered as _not so_ _smart_ on a few matters, like recognizing enemies, but reading tiny shinobi seemed to be his specialty. Sometimes Kakashi wondered if he actually read some kind of pedagogy books or if the talent was just natural.

"I eavesdropped on your kids this morning, while I watched over them like you asked me to," Guy explained, lowering his voice. "Sasuke was trying to pick a fight with Naruto. And I mean, he was trying to provoke him. Physically. He's been hitting him and trying to scuffle whenever he's got a chance. I don't think he's looking for a friendly sparring. He wants to feel like he can _hurt_ , Kakashi."

Kakashi inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and flinched when he felt Guy's heavy and warm hand settle on one of his shoulders. His friend gave him a comforting rub, or at least what he considered that was a comforting rub. It actually hurt a little, but Kakashi didn't have the courage to tell him.

"I know it's hard, Kakashi," Guy conceded. "But a teary face and resentful eyes are much easier to deal with for a few days than a severely injured student. Right now, Sasuke thinks what he did wrong is not being strong enough. I'm not even sure he regrets being disobedient."

"I'll talk to him as soon as he's discharged," Kakashi finally agreed, and felt himself relax a little when Guy's beamed for the first time in what had felt like hours.

"Don't forget to hug him and tell him how much you love him," Guy instructed, raising a finger. "Before and afterwards. And while you are at it, if possible."

"That'd just confuse him, Guy—"

"Okay. You can just tell him you love him _while_ you do it."

"No, Guy, I don't think that's the pro—"

 **" STOP IT! "**

The shriek chilled Kakashi's to the core.

He held his breath and, after exchanging one panicked look with Guy, he kicked the door open.

The room was empty.

His heart started beating so hard in his chest he could swear he felt it pounding against his ears. It was as if someone had suddenly punched him in the stomach and taken his breath away. Adrenaline made his body move by itself, and soon he was climbing the window and racing vertically towards the roof of the hospital, from where the screaming had come.

That'd been Sakura.


	2. Consequences

I had some trouble writing this because I wasn't fully aware of the angsty implications of all of this when I wrote the first chapter. You can't really say I'm good at angst (or at anything that isn't fluff or hurt/comfort, for that matter) so I hope I didn't ruin this or anything.

But anyway, I tried, so (: I also hope this is not terribly out of character

sorry about the grammatical mistakes idk why but i feel like i made 120% more mistakes than i usually do omg i hope it's not too bad

Thank you so much to kanya96, Introvertingeverywhere and the three Guests for their reviews!

* * *

Kakashi was greeted by Guy's shiniest, most reassuring smile. The one he knew his friend reserved only for him when he knew he'd had the shittiest of days. Kakashi'd hated it when they were younger, but with the years he'd learned to appreciate it. Now he couldn't be more grateful for having the luck of having such a dork proclaiming himself as his best friend— _and_ eternal rival.

"Did he behave?" Kakashi asked, not bothering into pretending he wasn't anxious while que took a peek over Guy's shoulder, in the room behind him. He'd already managed to stay serious and with a blank expression all day, but he knew he couldn't fool Guy into thinking the living hell hadn't been scared out of him that morning.

Guy chuckled.

"He was angelic," Guy said, looking back for a second. "Didn't give a single problem. Not that I would've expected any of that after you so effectively _inspired_ him not to misbehave with that resounding love tap before you left. That must have stung."

"Well," Kakashi said, sheepishly. Sasuke would probably never forgive him for giving him that in front of Guy. "He's quite a well-educated kid, actually. Very polite. He only needs a little motivation from time to time to remember he isn't supposed to bite or snarl at the people that are trying to heal him. How's his arm?"

"The nurse said he would be okay. It's nothing serious," Guy explained, leaning back against the door frame. "It bled a lot, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked. They were more worried about the infection he could get from it. Water towers are not exactly _clean,_ apparently, so they cleaned each wound very thoroughly before stitching it. And he's up to date with his vaccines, so there shouldn't be a problem."

That made Kakashi relax a little, though the knot in his gut tightened again as soon as he remembered the unashamed way in which Sasuke'd ignored his warnings and witlessly yanked his arm out of the metal, not caring about the sharp edges he'd created with his chidori. It'd taken all from him not to haul him over his lap in that very second.

Guy must have perceived he was thinking about unpleasant things, because he changed the topic.

"How're your other two ducklings? Did you talk to them?"

Kakashi took in a deep breath.

"Jiraiya told me he would take care of Naruto," He said. "And there was no point into having a conversation with Sakura when she was so distressed. I took her home."

"Then what took you so long?" Guy asked, eyebrows raised. "Not that I minded keeping an eye on Sasuke-kun in your absence. But he clearly needs _you,_ I can tell you left him reflexing on something before leaving. I could see the internal battle taking place inside of these youthful eyes, but he wouldn't tell me a word about it. It's slowly eating him from inside."

"I'm really sorry about that, Guy. It really wasn't my intention to keep you away from Lee-kun for so long," Kakashi apologized. His friend hastily tried to tell him not to worry about it, but Kakashi didn't give him the chance to speak. "I went to Tsunade-sama to tell her I couldn't take the mission she'd assigned me this morning, and to explain her what'd happened. She wasn't pleased."

"I see," Guy's smile turned into a more sympathetic one. "I'm glad you did that. I'm sure dealing with Tsunade-sama's wrath must have been hard, but Sasuke-kun shouldn't be left unsupervised."

"She thought the same," Kakashi said. "Especially after someone reported her about five intruders that were sighted creepily stalking from a building that was suspiciously close from the tree area where I picked Sasuke up after his temper tantrum. They weren't caught, so they could be anywhere right now."

Guy evidently made his best to try and hide it, but that didn't stop Kakashi from noticing the way his shoulders shifted as he flinched.

"You don't think—"

"That's exactly what I think."

They both stared at each other for a few seconds, in silence, before Guy finally decided to move.

"I don't think I'll get any sleep tonight," Guy cheerfully informed, while he walked away, in the direction of Lee's room. "If you feel like making an eternal-rival-sleepover later, you know where to find me. I'm sure I could convince Neji of joining us."

* * *

Kakashi needed around fifteen complete minutes to gather enough courage to gently take Sasuke's chin in one of his hands and tilt his face up, so he would finally meet his eyes. He almost immediately regretted it, though. He had to make a real effort not to stand up and leave the room in the act, so he could beg Guy to go back there and make something about the large, terribly sad eyes in his student's face.

It did comfort him a little when the boy finally hissed at him, though. He could deal with a sulky Sasuke. Just, not with the tears that were so obviously swelling up behind his eyes. He never knew what to do with that. It felt pretty much like having an explosive tag in his hands, ready to go set everything on fire if he made the slightest mistake.

"So, did you think about it?" Kakashi asked, and almost let go of Sasuke's face when he saw something very similar to a grimace grace his tiny student's features. As if hearing that had caused him physical pain. "Is _anything_ worth losing your teammates, Sasuke?"

This time Sasuke jerked away from his touch, roughly, almost as if he had given him an electrical shock. Kakashi reaffirmed his grip, squeezing his cheeks slightly, and reprimanded him with a whisper. Sasuke stopped struggling a few seconds after that, but he averted his eyes as if they were burning him.

"Just leave me alone,"

Hearing the small tremble in his voice almost killed Kakashi.

God, who had thought that giving him children was a good idea? There was a reason he had dogs. Puppies didn't hide their weaknesses and swallowed their tears. They only accepted his unconditional love and loved him back for that. It was so _easy._ Sasuke, on the other hand, was very determined to make him _damn prove_ with actual _actions_ and _words_ that he would fucking give his life only to see him and his teammates smiling sweetly.

"It's okay," Kakashi muttered, trying to remember how humans used to comfort other humans. They'd certainly not taught them that in the jōnin training. "You don't have to hold back in front of me, Sasuke."

He didn't get any answer.

If he'd learned something from Guy, was that genin needed to cry when they felt like crying. They were starting to carry the burdens of a real shinobi, after all, but in a much smaller body. All that internal chemistry could result physically painful if it was not relieved. Naruto cried an awful lot and was the sunniest ball of sunshine Kakashi could think of, so it'd always seemed to him like that theory made sense.

"They love you so much, Sasuke," Kakashi started, cautiously, and heard Sasuke take in a deep and shaky breath. "Sakura, the most intelligent of you three, even did something stupid out of pure _terror_ because of what you did. She was literally willing to give her life so you two wouldn't result hurt. Which was _wrong,_ and for what she's going to get a very long lecture, of course, but she did it because she can't stand the idea of any of you two with a death injury."

Sasuke put his hand on Kakashi's arm this time, burying his fingers as he tried to push him away. Kakashi didn't move an inch.

"And Naruto," Kakashi continued. "He was so upset when he found out you'd been hurt, Sasuke. He wouldn't stop asking Guy-sensei about you when he went to meet him and Jiraiya-sama. He got himself in trouble for disobeying Jiraiya-sama and trying to confront Akatsuki only because he was _furious_ about what they'd done to you. He should've been furious because they're persecuting him, but no. He could only think about you."

Kakashi started doubting his decision of mentioning Naruto when Sasuke bared his gritted he decided it'd been a good idea as soon as he noticed that his shoulders had started shaking a little. _If it gets him closer to crying, then perfect._

He inhaled deeply and braced himself for what was coming.

"And I, Sasuke," Kakashi whispered. "This morning, I—I surely wanted to murder you, of course. That's why I tied you to that tree. I had to contain myself, but—."

 _Just say it, you coward._

"—I actually had that serious face on because I was trained to conceal how upset I was," He exhaled. "And I say this because, well, I—I don't— you worri—"

And then, boom. His tiny personal explosive tag finally set in flames.

But not in the way he'd expected.

The struggling turned into full-strength fighting. Kakashi felt Sasuke's teeth sinking into his hand before he could entirely register what was happening, and then he was suddenly dodging and blocking punches and kicks that were directly aimed for the most breakable parts of his body. He made it out of instinct and was so bewildered that he didn't realize there was also _shouting_ and _yelling_ in between until a few minutes later.

"Shut up, shut up,shut the _fuck_ up!" Sasuke cried, while trying to force him out of the bed. "Get out of here! I don't need any of your shit! I don't need any of anyone's shit, okay? Leave me alone! I don't need anyone's concern or love or—"

His voice broke, but his face remained dry. The hits kept coming. Incoherent growling and snarling too.

It broke Kakashi's heart.

And it also slowly started to make him angry. It wasn't until a few seconds later, when he realized that blood was dripping down Sasuke's arm and dampening the bandages because he'd ripped his stitches off, that he recovered his wits. It took him half a minute to manhandle his genin down, pinning his wrists behind his back and pressing his face tight against the mattress.

"Okay, okay Sasuke. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want," Kakashi said, and relaxed a little when he saw the boy stop jerking for a second to glare back at him. For instinct, Kakashi tightened his grip to the point of drawing out a whine from Sasuke when he realized the two swirling tomoes in his eyes.

Kakashi took his time examining Sasuke's once again bleeding arm. He didn't dare to take the bandages off, he didn't need to. He could tell he'd probably teared more skin than which had originally been teared by the irregular edges of the destroyed steel. When Sasuke dared to roll his eyes, he didn't hesitate into delivering a sound smack to his conveniently upturned backside.

"We're not talking about _that,_ since you insist so much into behaving like an absolute brat" Kakashi calmly explained, blatantly ignoring the death intent coming from his genin. "But we do have another pendant conversation. Much more matching for the temper tantrum you're throwing."

He didn't give Sasuke time to process what he'd just said. Not really bothering into being gentle —he was sure Sasuke would take _any_ chance he was given to break his nose—, he lifted his genin and laid him belly down over his lap in less than a second. He restrained Sasuke's legs with one of his and tilted him forwards, making the boy slide until his nose was barely a few inches from the floor.

"You moronically preposterous _bastard_!"

Kakashi would have snorted if he'd been in the mood.

He wasn't.

So, instead he rewarded that ingenious insult by hooking one of his fingers in the waistband of his student's thin hospital pants and tugging them down to the middle of his thighs. It wasn't like they would offer him any significant protection if they stayed on, after all.

The boy in his lap proved to have a lot more of insults in that little creative mind of his by saying them out loud of his while squirming and snapping his teeth at him.

"One more attempt at _biting_ me, Sasuke," Kakashi warned, tugging his glove off one-handedly with the easiness of experience. "And there'll be nothing standing between my hand and your skin. Am I clear?"

That terrified Sasuke enough to convince him to stop moving. If Kakashi had to be honest, the idea terrified him just the same. He was good a threatening, but never good at delivering. He hated it when his genin were too hot-headed to save him that kind of situations. He was never good at enduring their sobbing and begging and at ignoring their promises for eternal behavior.

"I promised you that you'd regret it if you decided to fight Itachi, right?" Kakashi said and couldn't say he wasn't surprised when Sasuke's entire body tensed up like a bow string. Hadn't he known he'd earned a trip over his knee because of that? Though, to be fair, Kakashi hadn't known either at first. "If you don't want to talk about your feelings like a _mature_ person _,_ then allow me to talk about mine on this matter."

He usually tried to start with not-so-stinging slaps.

Mentioning Itachi's name, though, made his hand practically move by itself. He didn't realize he was being an asshole until he had Sasuke jerking in his lap and stifling a whimper against the pants of his uniform after the _first_ slap.

Kakashi suppressed the need to rub to soothe the pain and let his hand fall another five times, though now measuring his strength. He wouldn't forgive himself if he gave Sasuke anything else than a well-reddened skin. Having him feeling uncomfortable while sitting the next day was what he was aiming for, having him _hurting_ for days would be unacceptable.

"You could have _died,_ Sasuke," Kakashi said, being quick at covering his genin entire behind twice. That was, after all, Sasuke's most grave misconduct so far. "If I tell you that you are not allowed to do something, I mean it in every context. It doesn't matter if I'm close to fainting, or if I'm unconscious, or _dead._ Rules concerning your wellbeing Have. No. Exceptions."

"That's just stupid!" Sasuke dared to say, the little shit, even though he was wincing and evidently swallowing every single whine that wanted to escape his lips. He'd always had very little appreciation for his physical integrity, after all. Kakashi allowed himself to give one more smack like the first one, deciding that Sasuke's skin should be warm enough to endure it now, and succeeded into making the boy jump and hiss. "I don't care about your damn allowances. I would have done the same even when you were conscious if you hadn't been so damn determined to _bother_ me and hold me back when no one asked for your help."

The audacity.

Kakashi very serenely raised Sasuke's hips and pulled his underwear down, just below his rear. He heard his genin's breath hitch, but he didn't wait for his cussing before giving him six, slow, particularly smart smacks. He made sure to distribute the time adequately, so each slap could be clearly heard, and hoped there wasn't anyone standing outside the door. Then put the boxers back to their place, making Sasuke wriggle at the sensation of the fabric sliding over his sore skin.

He didn't let Sasuke brace himself before raining down with more smacks.

"I don't give a damn about your superiority complex Sasuke," Kakashi said, while deciding it was time to switch to Sasuke's thighs. He pulled his pants a little lower for that. "Not hurting your pride will never be my priority. _You_ are my priority. Your life, your wellbeing. If that means interfering with your stubborn, egocentric ideas, then _good._ You can hate me all you want. I'll stand between you and unnecessary danger as many times as I need."

Sasuke was starting to let his breath out in small puffs of air. His ears were starting to get red as well. That'd usually be Kakashi's signal to start slowing down. But that day he actually paced up.

"A genin," He said, gritting his teeth. "Is. Not. Allowed. To. Fight. An. S. Ranked. Criminal. Never."

These words, accompanied by their respective smacks, actually managed to draw out a sob from Sasuke. The boy somehow stifled it, though he didn't have his face pressed against anything. His shoulders started shaking. Determined to finish that conversation for once, Kakashi started to pepper Sasuke's undercurve with swifter swats.

"I don't care who's the moron. Your brother, your lost uncle or the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire," Kakashi said. "And I don't care if you're the genius of your generation. As long as there's the option of someone protecting you, stupidly involving yourself in that kind of battles. Is. Out. Of. The. Question!"

He still had one more sentence to lecture Sasuke in mind, he was sure.

But he absolutely forgot about it when the boy in his lap started authentically _choking_ on his tears. Kakashi felt so distressed by the sound of Sasuke coughing and sobbing between heaves that he automatically threw his lecture out of the window and pulled his genin up into a sitting position so fast he almost gave him whiplash. He started firmly patting his back then, as Sasuke retched once, but luckily didn't throw up.

Only then Kakashi was conscious of the worrying amount of tears that were running down the boy's face, at such a rhythm that they were dripping from his chin. He didn't understand anything until he noticed the small trail of blood coming from Sasuke's mouth. He gently took the chin of his abruptly grief-stricken student and carefully examined his busted lip, cursing himself.

So, he'd actually been crying for a while now. He'd just been stifling it by murdering his lip with his teeth.

"For Lord First's sake, Sasuke," Kakashi muttered, through gritted teeth. Then he readjusted the boy on his lap, trying to find a position that wouldn't bother his sore behind, and pressed the kid's face against his neck, cradling his head. "I need to know when you start crying. If not, I can't decide when to stop. And it becomes too much."

Sasuke babbled something, and his crying voice was so heart-wrenching that Kakashi just shushed him while caressing the back of his neck. _Idiot. Moron. Asshole. Asinine bastard. Moronic imbecile._ Kakashi just couldn't find enough words to mentally insult himself.

That was just one more reason why she shouldn't have been given a handful of children _._

He pressed Sasuke against himself as tightly as he could, whishing he could just absorb his misery. After the first minute of non-stop crying Kakashi realized, with a little bit of relief, that that couldn't possibly be provoked from hitting too hard. Sasuke wasn't shifting in his lap, or whining in pain, or demanding to be left alone.

So, it'd been something Kakashi'd said what had made him so upset.

"Why?" Sasuke hiccupped, after some good five minutes of draining himself. Kakashi wasn't sure if he'd managed to stop crying or if he'd finally ran out of his tear reserves. Uchihas didn't seem to have a lot of that. He patiently waited for the boy for continue, but the next seconds were filled only by his agitated breath and dry sobbing.

"Why what, Sasuke?" Kakashi patiently asked, threading his fingers through Sasuke's hair. It'd gotten very long. He'd need a cut soon.

"Why care?" Sasuke asked, burying his face deeper into the crook of Kakashi's neck. "It's a weakness. Having a genin group makes you an easy target, makes you vulnerable, but it's an obligation. Worrying about genin even while out of duty doesn't make sense."

Kakashi clicked his tongue softly in disapproval.

"I don't worry about you because you're _a_ genin," Kakashi said, inhaling deeply. Doing that usually helped Naruto to regularize his breathing. Maybe it would work for Sasuke too. "I worry about that because you're _my_ genin. One of my important people. Family. To be fair, I don't think I'll ever be okay with you getting hurt, even when you become a jōnin. But then I'll just have to force myself to swallow my worry. For now, though, I'll take advantage of my position as your superior to keep you safe."

Another wet sob. Oh, so he still had some water in him.

"But it's stupid," Sasuke protested.

"Naruto is stupid," Kakashi said, shrugging. "But we still love him. Don't we?"

Sasuke grunted. Kakashi chuckled and rubbed his back.

"He's getting strong," Sasuke said. "And I'm too weak. Couldn't even fight Itachi. How am I supposed to protect them when their friendship is actually what's hindering me this much?"

Kakashi took a deep breath. So, they'd finally reached the dreaded conversation.

He waited a few seconds before gently persuading Sasuke of pulling away from him, so he could see his face. Kakashi'd never seen the skin around his eyes that red. And he'd never seen him cry enough to have his eyes puffy. It made him want to tuck him into bed with six blankets.

"I don't know if you realized this, Sasuke," Kakashi said, using his thumb to wipe away the trace of the tears on Sasuke's cheeks. The boy scrunched up his nose, trying to look annoyed, but it was just adorable. "But your brother pretty much managed to take three jōnin down at once. Asuma and Kurenai couldn't even fight him, because of his sharingan. And he _escaped_ a Legendary Sannin. You did learn in the Academy who's Jiraiya-sama, right?"

Sasuke pouted while frowning. He was evidently making his best to glare, but that wasn't really an option for his face in that moment. He didn't exactly look happy to become aware of that. Kakashi wasn't surprised, Sasuke'd always hated not being right. And telling him that not even one of the strongest, wisest persons in the Land of Fire couldn't beat Itachi was proving him wrong.

"But none of you have the sharingan," Sasuke said. Then he corrected himself. "Well, none of you are _Uchiha_ with a sharingan. It's obvious it has to be me. But I'm not advancing fast enough, and that man, Orochi—"

Kakashi'd tilted Sasuke and given him a smart smack before he could even finish that name. Sasuke didn't make an effort to suppress a whimper.

" _Orochimaru_ has been trying to have Itachi ever since Itachi was just a little older than you, Sasuke," Kakashi said, narrowing his eyes. "That's one of the many reasons why the Third Hokage started having a bad feeling about him. That's why he explicitly went to the chunin exams looking for _you._ "

He landed another smack for good measure, to make sure the message had been well delivered, and then he rubbed softly.

"Because for many years he's been trying to get Itachi, and he hasn't achieved it. So, he thought it would be easier to go for someone younger, _you,_ " Kakashi explained. "But he wouldn't have even done as little as look at you any longer after fighting you if he had determined that you didn't have the potential to surpass your brother, some day. Orochimaru is not the kind of man who gets _conformed."_

Sasuke looked at his eyes with something glinting behind his. Not tears anymore. Not overwhelming sadness. No thirstiness for revenge either.

It was hope. And it looked so right in his face, like it belonged, because it was something kids his age should have in their eyes. It was one of the things that made Naruto and Sakura so easily lovable. And Kakashi's chest filled with warmth at realizing that it looked just as endearing in Sasuke.

"Now, Sasuke," He said, shifting the boy in his lap. He was heavy. His legs were starting to cramp. Sasuke didn't seem to mind at all, though. "Would you _really_ like to be trained by some creepy, pathetic bastard? Be submitted to a lot of weird _tests,_ like a lab rat? Or do you want to stay here and train along the people who love you so much they'd literally give their lives for yours?"

"I would, too," Sasuke hastily clarified, almost choking in his own breath. "—Give it My life."

Then he averted his gaze, pink softly painting his cheeks. He was a mess, with his red eyes and swollen and bloodied lip and his also bloodied bandages. But, for the first time in days, he finally looked truly _happy._ He didn't really answer Kakashi's question, but he didn't need to.

Feeling like his lungs filled with the first real breath he'd taken in _months_ now, Kakashi allowed himself to smile and pull the tiny bastard in his lap back into his arms. Sasuke relaxed against him, and only hissed at him twice when he pressed his mask covered lips against his temple.

"You're still in trouble, in case you wondered," Kakashi whispered. "For acting up the entire day."

Sasuke cursed.


End file.
